Independent international standards organisation, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), on Thursday published a significantly updated version of its Biodiversity Standard. This was a response to the unprecedented pressures on nature, with very many species of plants and animals now threatened by extinction, and it sets a new global benchmark for accountability regarding biodiversity impacts.
“The impacts of biodiversity loss stem [sic] well beyond the natural environment, undermining progress of the [Sustainable Development Goals] and having devastating consequences for people, while it is also a multiplying factor in the climate crisis,” highlighted GRI Global Sustainability Standards board chairperson Carol Adams. “Understanding the impacts that organisations have is therefore a crucial aspect of implementing global solutions to halt and even reverse the damage and address existential threats.”
Research has revealed that biodiversity is declining in every region of the world. Further, the World Economic Forum has reported that biodiversity loss threatens half the global economy. On the other hand, the protection of biodiversity has been internationally agreed under the United Nations (UN) Global Biodiversity Framework (full formal title: the UN Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework), adopted at the COP15 Climate Conference.
The new standard is GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024. It can now be freely downloaded, and will come into effect, for reporting purposes, from January 1, 2026. For the next two years, it will be piloted with early adopters, with GRI Community members being prioritised. GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024 will replace GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016.
“The updated GRI Standard sets a new bar for transparency on biodiversity impacts,” she pointed out. “It will support detailed, location-specific reporting, both within an organisation’s operations and throughout its supply chain, ensuring stakeholders can assess how impacts on biodiversity are mitigated and reduced. Identifying and managing an organisation’s most significant impacts is critical to understanding dependencies and risks.”